Bolivia has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

The "Autoridad de Regulación y Fiscalización de Telecomunicaciones y Transportes" (ATT), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Bolivia has only partially attached the WTO Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Bolivia has only partially appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

The country does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, according to Art. 45 of the General Telecommunications, Information, and Communication Technologies Law, accounting separation is mandated since 2011.

According to the Supreme Decree No. 29544, the State of Bolivia nationalized the share package held by the company ETI EURO TELECOM INTERNATIONAL NV in Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones Sociedad Anónima - ENTEL S.A.A. The Bolivian State owns 97.47% of the shares of ENTEL, while the other 2,53% is owned by minority shareholders. In addition, according to Art. 19 of Law No. 516, assets and investments recovered as a result of the nationalization processes carried out by the State for the recovery of natural resources and strategic sectors, may not be privatized under any modality.

According to the Art. 21 of the General Telecommunications, Information and Communication Technologies Law, Bolivia established passive infrastructure sharing obligation both in fixed and mobile sector.

According to Art. 16 of the Investment Promotion Law, foreign investment in strategic sectors of the State, including in the telecommunications sector, can only be made in mixed capital companies in which the foreign investors has less than the 50% of the shareholding, and the State has a majority shareholding.

Bolivia lacks a comprehensive regime for the protection of trade secrets.

Bolivia has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

It is reported that copyright is not adequately enforced online in the country. Significant challenges persist with respect to adequate and effective IP enforcement and communication between the "Servicio Nacional de Propiedad Intelectual" (SENAPI) and customs. Video, music, literature, and software piracy rates are among the highest in Latin America. In addition, it is reported that the rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was 79% in 2017 (above the 52% rate of the Latin American countries), for an estimated commercial value of USD 94 million.

Bolivia has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

Bolivia is not a signatory of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Bolivia has a copyright regime under the Law No. 1322. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 24 lists the exceptions, which include citation of an author as long as it is for teaching or research purposes, in accordance with honest uses, to the extent justified by the purpose pursued and not abusive. Furthermore, Bolivia is a member of the Andean Community of Nations, and is subject to Decision 351 issued in 1993. Art. 22 of the Decision sets forth a list of mandatory exceptions in the internal market, but also allows the adoption of additional exceptions in the domestic law of members, as long as they comply with the international standards of the so-called three-step test.

There are some complains are that the laws on intellectual property rights in Bolivia are outdated, and constitutional restrictions limit effective IP protection, because these laws relies on a century-old industrial law (Law of December 2, 1916), rather than any specific law governing industrial property.